SpaceX Dragon berths with International Space Station

#dragonspacecraft #SpaceX #NASA #ISS #soyuzspacecraft With the berthing of the Dragon spacecraft, operated by California-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), humans take yet another step into its venturing out into Space to conquer new barriers.
The Dragon is the first private spacecraft to berth with the International Space Station as reported in space.com dated 30 January 2015 – its duty and responsibility is to transport cargo to and from the ISS and it has commercial agreements with NASA.
SpaceX made its first demonstration flight to the station in May 2012, and then began commercial fights and is currently contracted with NASA to carry out 12 robotic supply flights to the station for a minimum of $1.6 billion.
Ferrying cargo to and from the station is one aspect of SpaceX because it is simultaneously working on a plan to put astronauts on the Dragon spacecraft. For this, the company has received in 2014 an amount of $2.6 billion from NASA for the latest phase of the Commercial Crew Program. The aim is to fly astronauts on American spacecraft by 2017.
For the Commercial Crew Program, Dragon would be modified to accommodate up to seven astronauts – this is three in the Soyuz spacecraft that is being used. SpaceX and NASA are hoping that this capability to carry more astronauts could allow International Space Station crews to expand from the current normal level of six people.

Race for Mars hots up – test flight on ESA mini shuttle set for 11 February 2015

#spacetaxi #ESA #ISS #IXV #vegarocket The European ‘space taxi’ IXV (or Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle) is getting readied for launch on 11 February 2015 as indicated in dailymail.co.uk of dated 29 January 2015 – it would be a test flight. This vehicle would make available to Europe with its own shuttle-like, reusable space vehicle.
One of the objectives of this mission is to gather vital flight data that that could assist Europe to develop technology for a sample return mission to Mars, or to return astronauts from the space station.
It has been planned to launch the ‘space taxi’ on February 11 by using a Vega rocket from Kourou, French Guiana – the flight would be of 100-minute duration. It may be recalled that the launch had, initially, been scheduled for November 18, but in October, Arianespace had announced a postponement in order 'to carry out additional flight trajectory analyses'.
The weight of the taxi is two tonnes, its size is that of a car and it is fitted with 300 sensors. The prototype IXV is expected to collect data on the craft's handling and thermodynamics. The two-piece shell will open to release the space plane at an altitude of 200 miles (320 km).
It has been developed over five years at a cost of $225 million and this IXV would be the test-bed for a reusable vehicle. It would be useful to bring astronauts back from the International Space Station (ISS). At present, this is done by Russia and its Soyuz.

International Space Station is there since 1998 – how many more years will it last?

#InternationalSpaceStation #NASA #ammonialeak #orbitaldebris The latest scare of ammonia gas leak has brought up the question of – how long will the ISS last? It has been there since 1998 and its life is tentatively set as 2024, but, given the normal wear and tear and fears of any asteroid strike or collision with orbital debris, can it really last that long?
It is no secret that, till now, the ISS, the habitable satellite, has faced a number of maintenance issues, from pump failures to damaged panels. The astronauts on-board ISS had to go for spacewalks to rectify some of the problems.
Incidentally, the International Space Station (ISS) is 17-years-old and has been occupied for 5,187 days and circled the Earth 92,357 times. It is, at present, certified through 2020, and the President of the United States has said that they will extend it to 2024.
This has been indicated by NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz.
However, in order to allow it to function, funds are necessary apart from more of international support for continuing to operate the space station. Its lifecycle beyond 2024 would depend a great deal on the matter of supplies of spares and the ability to carry out repairs on parts that breakdown or go unserviceable. Unless that happens, the ISS cannot continue to run.